Golf clubs low on membership

[williamalex1]

Another reason is too many courses, we have at least 24 golf courses within a 30 minute drive of ours.

 

[trevor]

Another interesting point of view https://www.golfshake.com/news/view/14389/Golf_Course_Closures_Fast_Reaching_Crisis_Point.html[/QUOTE

“They wanted to play proper courses. These were players who were not steeped in the traditions of the game. Many didn’t really understand etiquette. But they did know how to have fun. And fun is a word that is frowned upon by too many UK golf clubs. So eventually they began to drift away from the game.”


A paragraph taken from the above link, is golf taken too seriously at some clubs?

 

[hovis]

I won't name the club but we wanted to play a national game there and pretty much close the course for 3 days to members (mid week). they said no.

We ended up playing another course and over 3 days also consumed over 2000 pints of guiness, 600 additional meals as lunch wasn't Included and 1.5k in the pro shop.
the members of the club welcomed us with open arms as the money was being put back into the course. the other course recently stated they are close to folding!!!!!!!! says alot

 

[Oddsocks]

Surely for a Roll Up you just ‘roll up’?!

You would think, but three of my local clubs you need to be invited into

 

[SammmeBee]

You would think, but three of my local clubs you need to be invited into

Doesn’t make much sense then does it? It’s not the clubs that need to be more open and accommodating - it’s the members of said clubs.....

 

[Oddsocks]

Couldn’t agree more sam. Our GM openly pushes our swindle with every enquiry and even offers a free game with the swindle before joining.

scrap the politics, we all go to a course for the same reason

 

[Jacko_G]

Are working class significantly worse off in recent years due to inflation. I genuinely don't know but would ask the question that if inflation has been running at between 1% and 3%, and the average wage increase has been running at around 0.5% below inflation just how much has wages lagged behind inflation? The raw numbers suggest that, based on the average wage, the lag is around £13 per month - that's not even 4 pints of beer a month. That's one pint a week.

That aside, there's a good number of articles with emotional headlines suggesting armageddon is just around the corner in terms of club numbers. But the stats don't accurately reflect the headlines, and do in fact suggest that numbers have increased slightly since 2014.

But there's been a number of clubs gone to the wall. How is that reconciled against membership numbers/fees? Maybe its down to members becoming nomads. Maybe its because the inflation factors for a business are different to those that Joe Public feels, e.g. a significant cost for a club is diesel. Has diesel gone up at a greater rate than the average inflation rate? Have some clubs gone to the wall because over a period of time they've frozen their subs to retain membership numbers, and are now doubly struggling to make ends meet?

Honestly, I think any change is down to popularity. Golf just doesn't light many people's candles. Many guys coming away from Sunday league football find other, less time-consuming sports. And guys are more family orientated now than they've ever been.

But the stats suggest that golf is slightly on the up? Go figure.

I'll beg to differ as disposable income has deteriorated drastically for numerous families. Wages have stagnated for years.

 

[Hobbit]

I'll beg to differ as disposable income has deteriorated drastically for numerous families. Wages have stagnated for years.

Lets agree to disagree. Without a doubt disposable income has deteriorated for a number of families but not for a lot of others. And then there's how much have salaries gone up and how much has subs gone up?

Edit; go and have a look on the ONS website for disposable incomes for retired and non-retired incomes. Disposable incomes in non-retired householdshave gone up 3.5% in the last 2 years, and 1.2% for retired households.

As I say, go to the ONS website. It makes surprising reading.

 

[williamalex1]

Lets agree to disagree. Without a doubt disposable income has deteriorated for a number of families but not for a lot of others. And then there's how much have salaries gone up and how much has subs gone up?

Edit; go and have a look on the ONS website for disposable incomes for retired and non-retired incomes. Disposable incomes in non-retired householdshave gone up 3.5% in the last 2 years, and 1.2% for retired households.

As I say, go to the ONS website. It makes surprising reading.

As a pensioner with an additional private pension and mortgage paid, I've never been so well of in my life.
Clubs should be trying to attract more retired people to play mid week when most courses are empty.

 

[patricks148]

As a pensioner with an additional private pension and mortgage paid, I've never been so well of in my life.
Clubs should be trying to attract more retired people to play mid week when most courses are empty.

This, rather than chasing younsters, who don't have the time or the money

 

[clubchamp98]

As a pensioner with an additional private pension and mortgage paid, I've never been so well of in my life.
Clubs should be trying to attract more retired people to play mid week when most courses are empty.

Ours has them already.
They spend more than the young guys who are always going somewhere kids,work etc.
It’s a tough life now for younger men ( it is usually men) juggling everything to get time to play.

 

[williamalex1]

Ours has them already.
They spend more than the young guys who are always going somewhere kids,work etc.
It’s a tough life now for younger men ( it is usually men) juggling everything to get time to play.

It was just as tough if not tougher when i was young, sadly a long time ago

 

[trevor]

As a pensioner with an additional private pension and mortgage paid, I've never been so well of in my life.
Clubs should be trying to attract more retired people to play mid week when most courses are empty.

Not sure we could fit any more retired people on our course on a Monday, it’s normally booked solid from 7 30 until 12 30.

 

[clubchamp98]

It was just as tough if not tougher when i was young, sadly a long time ago

It was just the same ,just seemed tougher because it was you and me.
I was lucky I worked shifts that helps getting to pla.
Don’t know how 9/5 lads get to play.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Shorter, easier courses ?!? Why make it easier ? That’s sanitising the sport - If someone finds it hard - practise

I think it does need a bit of a refresh, a fresh approach would do it good.

People play for fun. Long, boggy, unkept courses are killing the game.

We need cheaper, shorter, easier, quicker to play courses that gets the golf fix but fits with the modern age.

Harder courses and members courses will always have, they are the ones doing the best now as they have cornered the core market. They know their audience and play right to them.

The rest of the courses need to cater to the rest of the golfing market, not try and tap into the market already catered for.

 

[fundy]

I think it does need a bit of a refresh, a fresh approach would do it good.

People play for fun. Long, boggy, unkept courses are killing the game.

We need cheaper, shorter, easier, quicker to play courses that gets the golf fix but fits with the modern age.

Harder courses and members courses will always have, they are the ones doing the best now as they have cornered the core market. They know their audience and play right to them.

The rest of the courses need to cater to the rest of the golfing market, not try and tap into the market already catered for.

is this really to suit the rest of the golfing market or just what you would like and would suit you?

how many long boggy unkept courses are there?

 

[Jacko_G]

Lets agree to disagree. Without a doubt disposable income has deteriorated for a number of families but not for a lot of others. And then there's how much have salaries gone up and how much has subs gone up?

Edit; go and have a look on the ONS website for disposable incomes for retired and non-retired incomes. Disposable incomes in non-retired householdshave gone up 3.5% in the last 2 years, and 1.2% for retired households.

As I say, go to the ONS website. It makes surprising reading.

Yes agree to disagree is probably best.

My own situation, I've been sensible/lucky with overpaying my mortgage for years. That said my disposable income is drastically reduced from where it was and if I hadn't done what I had done when younger I would struggle to afford where I now currently play my golf.

I firmly believe that low incomes/higher cost of living have seriously impacted on golf club membership.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

I think it does need a bit of a refresh, a fresh approach would do it good.

People play for fun. Long, boggy, unkept courses are killing the game.

We need cheaper, shorter, easier, quicker to play courses that gets the golf fix but fits with the modern age.

Harder courses and members courses will always have, they are the ones doing the best now as they have cornered the core market. They know their audience and play right to them.

The rest of the courses need to cater to the rest of the golfing market, not try and tap into the market already catered for.

As already asked - do you really think there is a big enough market for someone to build a “short easier” course ? Or is it just to suit your needs ?

Long boggy courses killing the game ? Sorry but that’s utter rubbish unless you can provide some substance behind it ?

And the game isn’t dieing,

 

[clubchamp98]

As already asked - do you really think there is a big enough market for someone to build a “short easier” course ? Or is it just to suit your needs ?

Long boggy courses killing the game ? Sorry but that’s utter rubbish unless you can provide some substance behind it ?

And the game isn’t dieing,

A short easier course to suit families / beginners might be ok for summer but in this climate it would be empty 8 months of the year .
But if they could make one work why not.

 

[Jacko_G]

As already asked - do you really think there is a big enough market for someone to build a “short easier” course ? Or is it just to suit your needs ?

Long boggy courses killing the game ? Sorry but that’s utter rubbish unless you can provide some substance behind it ?

And the game isn’t dieing,

Yip I can.

I left my local clubs due to soggy crap winter golf and now travel 22 miles each way to ay on the coast as I simply wasn't getting value for money.